Yann LeCun, former Meta, raises more than 1 billion for his Ai startup

Yann LeCun, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, has raised $1.03 billion for his start-up. The company, called Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI), aims to create technology that can understand and move in the real world more effectively than Large Language Models (LLM) such as ChatGPT.

The start-up, which was founded less than three months ago, is based in Paris and includes among its investors some of the world's largest technology companies such as Nvidia and Samsung, as well as investors such as Cathay Innovation, Bezos Expeditions, Greycroft, Hiro Capital and HV Capital. The company has already reached a valuation of $3.5 billion and has raised one of the largest early funding rounds in Europe.

The French computer scientist is considered one of the key figures in the development of artificial intelligence, with a major contribution in the creation of algorithms that enabled the birth of modern chatbots and image recognition systems. For several years he led the development of Ai solutions for Meta, but after his exit from big tech in 2025 he became one of the biggest critics of LLMs. His opinion is that focusing on these models is not the best way to progress in the field of Ai.

Distancing itself from Silicon Valley, where research focuses on language models, LeCun said it plans to develop a 'universal model' capable of understanding the physical world beyond written text, so as to integrate with everything from domestic robots to self-driving cars. Advanced Machine Intelligence has no plans to launch a consumer product, but will spend most of the first year in research and development before collaborating with large companies. LeCun also stated that the start-up will focus on industries that need Ai models to produce hardware and other material goods. It is possible that there will be a partnership with Meta in the future to integrate AMI tencologies into the big tech's wearable devices.